Foreign Languages & Literatures Times

Transcription

1 Foreign Languages & Literatures Times c o l l e g e o f a r t s & l e t t e r s OLD DOMINION UNIVERSITY SPRING 2013 Inside this newsletter: Confucius Institute and Chinese ipallm Graduate wins Fulbright 2 Language Learning Resources 3 Featured Faculty 4 Spanish Highlights 5 Spring Events 6-7 End of Year Ceremonies 8 Take advantage of language resources This issue of the Foreign Languages and Literatures Times features many opportunities within the department that can help students enhance their language acquisition and skills. From Zachary Ramon Fitzpatrick s successful application to become a Fulbright scholar in Germany, to skills and language development programs through the Language Learning Center, study abroad trips and new courses, the opportunities are everywhere! Faculty in the Foreign Languages and Literatures department are continually developing new avenues of learning for students and teachers, as well as developing their own skills through research and study opportunities. For example, Dr. Zhongtang Ren and his team are introducing a new level of Chinese language instruction through the Confucius Institute in partnership with Minzu University in Beijing. The Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures publishes the Foreign Languages and Literatures Times newsletter to bring you updates on our students, alumni, new course offerings, faculty news, symposia and lectures, and any other newsworthy items. Please feel free to send in any information you have. Plus, we re always looking for a good feature story, so be sure to let the Foreign Languages and Literatures Times know what you re doing. Your editor, Martina Fortin, has been focusing on German language acquisition. This past year, I participated in the ODU English Language Center s Conversation Partner program. The only way to reach fluency goals in a foreign language is to practice outside of the classroom. The Conversation Partner program has been very helpful. I encourage others to give it a try. (Editor Martina Fortin is a sophomore majoring in linguistics with double minors in music performance and German.) 4001 Batten Arts & Letters Norfolk, VA Ph: (757) Fax: (757) Be sure to contact us: foreignlanguages@odu.edu

2 FOREIGN LANGUAGES AND LITERATURES SPRING 2013 Confucius Institute and Chinese ipallm: New Grants and Projects Approved for Old Dominion s Foreign Languages Department REN QIU HAILSTORK Old Dominion University is celebrating the opening of its Confucius Institute, together with 80 other Confucius Institutes awarded to U.S. universities. Confucius Institute is a grant with its main focus to support Chinese language teaching and training of Chinese language instructors. Its headquarters are located in Beijing, and the program is overseen by Hanban, a short term for the Office of Chinese Language Council International in China. As the principal investigator of this grant, Dr. Zhongtang Ren, from our department, is appointed by the university as the director of this Confucius Institute. Dr. Jin Qiu Hailstork, from the history department, is executive director. Dr. Ren initially wrote this grant to meet the increasing demand for learning the Chinese language. Chinese is identified as one of the critical foreign languages to learn because of China s economic growth, and thus Ren believes that fluency in Chinese can expand job and career opportunities for children and college students in Hampton Roads. Chinese is seen as one of the critical, yet toughest, languages in the world to learn. Ren worked diligently to develop and strengthen the Chinese language learning and teaching programs not only at ODU but also in public and private local schools. Dr. Ren s application started in 2009 with data collection of the needs of ODU students and the school districts including Norfolk, Virginia Beach and Newport News. As a result of these onsite visits, he gained the collaboration and cooperation of the Virginia Beach and Norfolk public schools. Colleges at ODU, including Arts & Letters and Education, were very supportive of the proposal for academic exchange programs with Chinese universities and joined the efforts. Through Dr. Ren s connections, Minzu University of China, a leading university for ethnic group students in China, was ready to partner with ODU. Dr. Ren s challenges include: to develop and strengthen Chinese language curriculum and instruction at ODU, to provide necessary technical assistance for Chinese language instruction in local schools, and to foster and maintain academic exchanges between ODU and Minzu University. As a research scientist, Dr. Ren has been very active and successful in seeking grant opportunities. For example, he has been involved in projects with the National Endowment for the Arts, the U.S. Department of Education and the National Science Foundation. His new application with Betty Rose Facer, from our department, and colleagues from other ODU colleges, is Chinese ipallm: Interactive Portable Assessment Language Learning Materials for Promoting Proficiency and Cultural Competency. The goal of the proposed project, which will include an adaptive assessment module based on students individual abilities, is to better support students learning Chinese characters through a learning through testing approach. 孔子学院 Confucius Institute Old Dominion University Old Dominion Graduate Embarks on Grant Opportunity Abroad Zachary Ramon Fitzpatrick, a 2012 Honors College graduate with degrees in international studies and German, has been awarded a Fulbright Grant. As a Fulbright English teaching assistant, he will travel to Germany from September 2013 to June He will attend orientation outside the city of Köln (Cologne) from Sept. 2-5 before embarking on a full school year at a German secondary school. He is definitely looking forward to the opportunity to assist with American studies and English education. As a Filipino American, he wishes to share a well-rounded perspective of American multiculturalism with his German students. He knows the experience will be a mutually beneficial cultural exchange, with each side sharing and learning from one another. After living in Germany as a military dependent child and studying abroad in Stuttgart 2 OLD DOMINION UNIVERSITY in his junior year at ODU, he now has the chance to return to his second heimat (homeland) in a professional capacity; this has always been his dream! I m really looking forward to living there again, says Zachary, but this time, with a job. It ll be a different experience than being there as a student. Zachary thanks all those who helped him to achieve this goal, in particular, his German professors and mentors: Astrid Heinrich-Lamb, Dr. Frederick Lubich, Regula Meier, and Dr. Heidi Schlipphacke. In addition, he is immensely grateful for the help he received on his application from Dr. David Metzger, Dr. David Roh, and Steve Bell, director of study abroad. Zachary will keep everyone at ODU updated as his adventure progresses!

3 FOREIGN LANGUAGES AND LITERATURES SPRING 2013 Language Learning Center implements workshops and new software The Foreign Language Teachers Workshop Series (FLTWS) makes efforts to provide useful professional development opportunities for Virginia foreign language educators. The FLTWS is partners with the Foreign Language Association of Virginia (FLAVA) through its professional development network. Beginning in February 2013, the series provided four more workshops developed from results of Virginia teachers self-assessments conducted through the Teacher Effectiveness for Language Learning (TELL) Project. TELL is being integrated as a part of the Virginia Foreign Language Professional Development Framework for The FLAVA/FLTWS workshops can be used for earning credit toward teacher certification renewal at the discretion of the local school division. Participants receive certificates after each workshop. The Language Learning Center is pleased to provide upcoming workshops on topics such as teacher effectiveness for language learning, teacher self-assessment, planning for success in the language classroom, and how to make the lessons meaningful. The workshops will be led by faculty and experts from the Virginia Department of Education, the National Capital Language Resource Center in Washington, D.C., Newport News Public Schools, and Liberty University. The Language Learning Center is also promoting more software and other new programming to aid in language learning and acquisition. Thanks to new online language learning software, learning German just got easier. The Language Learning Center now offers the Tell Me More online portal for learning German. Tell Me More delivers an engaging learning experience that combines the most innovative content with the latest in learning theory, pedagogy and technology. Tell Me More represents over 20 years of research and development investments and is a breakthrough language learning program from initial language acquisition through mastery. For anyone who is looking to skyrocket their language comprehension and their understanding of other cultures, SCOLA might be the perfect opportunity. SCOLA (Satellite Communications for Learning Associations) is a nonprofit educational organization that receives and re-transmits television programming from around the world. SCOLA helps people around the globe learn about other cultures and languages. It shows just how the modern technologies we use every day are so effective in overcoming cultural barriers, and it provides immense opportunities to better understand the world. SCOLA provides programming from more than 100 countries and languages. There are various channels available to all ODU students and faculty. SCOLA Insta-Class lessons provide transcriptions, translations, quizzes and vocabulary with accompanying video and audio clip playbacks for learners in 26 languages. SCOLA uses current events to enhance language training and is suitable for use by an individual or a class to extend vocabulary, grammar, reading and comprehension skills. For more information on SCOLA language learning content, Insta-Class lessons and ODU access, please contact Betty Rose Facer at (757) or bfacer@odu.edu. OLD DOMINION UNIVERSITY 3

4 FOREIGN LANGUAGES AND LITERATURES SPRING 2013 Featured Faculty Dr. Gabriela Toletti bridges two cultures Dr. Gabriela Christie Toletti is initially from Uruguay. When she was a little girl, her mother made sure Toletti learned English, for she wanted her daughter to have the tools she needed to survive in another country. Toletti received a degree of clinical psychology from the University of Uruguay and a degree in teaching English as a second language from the Alianza Cultural Uruguay. She also holds her M.A. and Ph.D. in Spanish language and literature from the State University of New York in Buffalo. Formerly an assistant professor of Spanish at Wingate University, she is currently a full professor of Spanish and the foreign languages coordinator at Tidewater Community College in Portsmouth and is an adjunct instructor at Old Dominion University. For Dr. Toletti, coming to the States was like fighting for her freedom -- the freedom to find her identity. She found that her studies in Latin American literature, when paired with her psychology background, established a bridge between her life in the States and Uruguay. Ironically, Toletti found out that she needed to leave Uruguay to establish a stronger connection with her roots. Dr. Toletti eventually became an American citizen in Norfolk. What I like most is the relationship with the students. I enjoy getting to know them. I enjoy what every student brings all of that adds to the fabric of the class. My most rewarding experiences in my teaching career are when I have taken students abroad. It is rewarding to integrate not only the language, but the culture. Dr. Toletti currently lives in Norfolk with her husband. They frequently travel to Uruguay to remain connected to her homeland, and she embraces her identity as both a Latin American and North American. She observes that it is not always easy to have two homes because it may feel like a person lives a hybrid existence, not really belonging in either home. Now, Dr. Toletti proudly admits, I prefer to see myself as a confident global citizen. Dr. Luis Guadaño pursues media, art studies Dr. Luis Guadaño, assistant professor of Spanish, attended several conferences in Ireland, Georgia and Spain last fall which heavily relate to his research. The conferences dealt with Spanish and American film/television as well as comic art. The first conference was held at the university in Cork, Ireland. Dr. Guadaño s presentation at the Alphaville Inaugural Conference: Cinema in the Interstices, was titled Exploiting Intermedia: Film, TV, and Tabloid In Santiago Segura s Torrente 4 Lethal Crisis. He used Torrente 4 Lethal Crisis to show the concept of intermediality, how objects in media are used, reused and adapted to other media. The November conference at the University of West Georgia in Carrollton, Ga., was titled Systems of Control/Modes of Resistance. Guadaño gave a presentation, Absolute, Official, and Collective Truth: The Comic Elucidation of the Spanish Crisis in Aleix Salo s Espanistan: This Country is Going to Hell and Apecracy. Guadaño noted the cartoonist s simple yet satirical approach in the short film Espanistan, as he comments on Spain s economic circumstances after the real estate crisis. Guadaño traveled to Madrid, Spain, in November to the Universidad Carlos III for a conference, In Transition: Historical, Political and Cultural Changes in Cinema and Television. He discussed the importance and impact of film audiences in terms of film narrative in his presentation titled What About The Audience? Migration and Film s Strategies IMAGE FROM ALEIX SALO S ESPANISTAN: THIS of Representation COUNTRY IS GOING TO HELL ( ). Long Awaited Goals Dr. Frederick Lubich, professor of German, has quite a few plans lined up for his upcoming sabbatical. His goals include publishing his long essay, Transatlantischer Fragebogen, as an extended version, along with two interviews with Ursula Mahlendorf and Auma Obama, Barack Obama s sister, in the form of a book. He would also like to edit some of his poetry and prose pieces as a book. Lubich also wants to complete at least two scholarly articles on Joseph von Eichendorff (romantic poet), Charlotte Roche (contemporary best-seller author), and an extended book review on three recent autobiographical publications by German born scholars and authors living in America (Cornelius Schnauber and Dieter Sevin) and in Argentina (Robert Schopflocher). In addition, he plans to conduct two interviews with Peter Wortsman and Cornelius Schnauber. Furthermore, he intends to write three to four commissioned book reviews, and, if time permits, write some prose or poetry pieces. Dr. Lubich also plans to attend a conference in New Orleans. 4 OLD DOMINION UNIVERSITY

5 FOREIGN LANGUAGES AND LITERATURES SPRING 2013 Grant amplifies research opportunities Dr. Junji Yoshida The Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures congratulates Dr. Elizabeth Black, assistant professor of French, for her winning proposal for the Summer Research Fellowship Program. A total of 27 SRFP proposals were received this year and 12 awards were granted. The fellowship program is open to any professor who may need time away from teaching to carry out their research. These opportunities are usually reserved for (but certainly not limited to) beginning professors. Dr. Black will travel to Paris for her research. Using the Paris National Archives, she will gain access to exclusive resources for her project, The Imaginary Home and the Home as Imaginary in Sixteenth-Century France, which deals with representatives of the home and domestic space. She states, I wanted to get an idea of how they thought of the home, what the concept was like for them, how it is different from what we understand today, and how it was changing at the time. Black will take her research trip to Paris in early June and stay for eight weeks. This summer Dr. Junji Yoshida will be pursuing quite a few projects regarding Japanese silent film and culture. A main project of his involves the history of the Jidaigeki (period drama film in pre-modern Japan), mainly the bright and cheerful Jidaigeki. He is interested in collecting as much information as he can about Jidaigeki film scripts to reconstruct how the stories were narrated. Dr. Yoshida will collect relevant movie posters as a crucial part of the marketing strategies and conduct archival research on audience response. Yoshida is also interested in cinematic techniques to prevent the disruption of the benshi (Japanese silent film narrators of the period). He currently researches whether the impact of the benshi was more positive or negative by taking into account the script writers, filmmakers, the audience and actors. Another project Yoshida will pursue revolves around the notion of mass entertainment in Japan. He will study how entertainment changed when Japan opened to western influence. Spanish Highlights Spanish 312: Advanced Writing and Reading Online Course The focus of Dr. Angelica Huizar s new summer online course is on writing as a process, and it follows and uses the standards set by the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) and the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) by which teacher education candidates in foreign languages are judged nationwide. This course primarily focuses on Standards 1, 2, 3, and 6. Standard 1: Language, Linguistics, Comparisons Standard 2: Cultures, Literatures, Cross- Disciplinary Concepts Standard 3: Language Acquisition Theories and Instructional Practices Standard 6: Professionalism Students will write six compositions covering six major modes of writing. The writing assignments are sequenced beginning with intermediate level functions according to ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines (description, correspondence, exposition), passing through the advanced level function (narration and exposition), and ending with the superior level function (argumentation). To learn more about this course, contact Professor Huizar at ahuizar@odu.edu. Study Abroad 2013, Granada Spain The summer 2013 study abroad trip to Granada, Spain, led by associate professor Martha Daas, had a lot in store for those who wanted the opportunity to experience Spanish culture and develop language skills. Granada is located in southern Spain, neighboring the breathtaking Sierra Nevada Mountains. It is a perfect place for students to study and gain appreciation for Spanish civilization. Students explored the history of Spain through the cultural lifestyle. Classes were held in the mornings and were further enhanced by day trips to other Spanish cities. La Alhambra Palace, Cordoba and Madrid were among the many destinations of this study abroad itinerary. OLD DOMINION UNIVERSITY 5

6 FOREIGN LANGUAGES AND LITERATURES SPRING 2013 Spring 2013 Events Nancy Minguez Retires This spring, Nancy Minguez retired from her full-time duties in our department. Students and colleagues have appreciated her bright and positive demeanor and creative outlook. We thank her for all her work and support! She was hired in fall 1984 as an adjunct instructor in the Foreign Languages & Literatures, and was appointed full-time lecturer in She taught all levels of Spanish, a special course for the medical professions, and most recently, a Spanish Music Appreciation seminar. Minguez also served as coordinator of the lower-division Spanish for many years, which included supervising adjunct faculty, serving as liaison for studentinstructor issues, and selecting textbooks. She administered the Oral Proficiency Interview exams for students preparing for student teaching and reviewed textbooks for a publishing house. During her tenure at Old Dominion University she wrote and published two editions of Conquering the Spanish Verb System (McGraw Hill). We congratulate Ms. Minguez on her productive career. Although she is officially retired, she plans to continue as an adjunct faculty instructor, so we are privileged that it is simply hasta pronto and not farewell. International Festival 2013 The International Festival took place on April 7, at the Ted Constant Convocation Center. The event featured a global marketplace, international food vendors, cultural dances and musical performances, global educational displays, children s cultural activities, an animal exhibit, a zumba blitz, and grand finale global fashion show with over 100 models in native cultural clothing. PHOTOS: TROY BONNER JR. 6 OLD DOMINION UNIVERSITY U.S. national security expert gives insights Bruce Riedel shared his experiences in national security at ODU on April 29 His as listeners gained insight to present day national security issues. He signed books after the presentation, including his new book, Avoiding Armageddon: America, India, and Pakistan to the Brink and Back. Riedel is director of the Intelligence Project at the Brookings Institution and teaches at the Johns Hopkins University School for Advanced International Studies. He retired from the Central Intelligence Agency in 2006 after 30 years service including postings overseas in the Middle East and Europe. Riedel was a senior advisor on South Asia and the Middle East to the last four U.S. presidents on the staff of the National Security Council at the White House. He was a negotiator at the Camp David, Shepherdstown and Wye River Israeli-Arab summits and was deputy assistant secretary of defense for the Near East and South Asia at the Pentagon and a senior advisor for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in Brussels. In January 2009, President Barack Obama asked Riedel to chair a review of American policy toward Afghanistan and Pakistan, which resulted in troop buildups and increased efforts to stabilize the two countries, as announced by the president on March 27, In 2011, Reidel served as an expert advisor to the prosecution of al Qaeda terrorist Omar Farooq Abdulmutallab in Detroit. Riedel is also the author of The Deadly Embrace: Pakistan, America and the Future of the Global Jihad and The Search for al Qaeda: Its Leadership, Ideology and Future.

7 FOREIGN LANGUAGES AND LITERATURES SPRING 2013 Acclaimed pianist highlights Asian/Pacific Heritage Month On April 14, Old Dominion University s Filipino American Center and the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures proudly presented The Spanish Heritage of Filipino Americans with an astonishing performance by Spanish pianist Antonio Carnota. Originally a piano professor at the Conservatorio de Santiago de Compostela, he plays numerous concerts in Europe (especially Spain), Latin America and the United States and has performed in several movie soundtracks. Carnota has also conducted many orchestras, including the Orchestra of the Conservatorio Santiago de Compostela and the Conservatorio Liria in Valencia. In addition to being in high demand as a pianist, Carnota is a composer, singer and a vocal teacher. Carnota s compelling piano performance ranged from the flamenco, classical and Philippine kundiman genres and widely known baroque selections on the harpsichord to diverse audience requests. Antonio Carnota s talent is exceptional and impassioned; he claims that he sings in 80 different languages and that he practices a minimum of five hours a day. The thrilling piano performance combined with Carnota s witty sense of humor produced an exceptional concert. How-to: Create an opera The Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures and the ODU Music Department presented Lorca: The Creation of an Opera, featuringd librettist Christopher Sawyer-Lauçanno and composer and pianist Dr. Andrey Kasparov. Sawyer-Laucanno and Kasparov were pleased to present the process that goes into creating their opera about Spanish poet and playwright Federico Garcia Lorca, who was murdered by the nationalists at the beginning of the Spanish Civil War in They told the story of Lorca s life to provide more context, and shared what inspired them to create an opera about him. Sawyer-Laucanno read parts of the libretto and Kasparov played some of the music as they gave insight to how the language, culture and opera story affected the musical elements of the opera. Audience members felt fortunate to have been let into the world of a composer and librettist as they further develop their work in progress. Guest lecturers and movies enhance German studies April certainly had a lot in store for German studies students. Among the events was an exhibition titled Lawyers Without Rights: Jewish Lawyers in Germany Under the Third Reich. This traveling exhibition was organized by the German Federal Bar Association in collaboration with the Institute for Jewish Studies and Interfaith Understanding at ODU and the Holocaust Commission of the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater. The exhibition opened at the F. Ludwig Diehn Center for the Performing Arts and then moved to the Perry Library through April. Featured panelists for the exhibition included William Whitehurst, former U.S. Congressman and Kaufman Lecturer in Public Affairs at ODU, Judge Mark Davis of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Dr. Frederick A. Lubich, professor of German at ODU. Other April events included Professor Esther Bauer of Virginia Tech as a guest speaker. Her topic was Men in Crisis: Aging Masculinity in Thomas Mann s Death in Venice and Max Frisch s Homo Faber. Lubich also included many German movie screenings, including The Voyager, based on the novel Homo Faber by Max Frisch; Buena Vista Social Club, a documentary about the music culture of Cuba; and The Comedian Harmonists, a film about the most famous a capella group of the Weimar Republic. The screenings were spoken in German with English subtitles. Minori Marken and ODU Japanese Chorus perform at Cherry Blossom Festival The 9th annual Cherry Blossom Festival at Virginia Beach was held on April 6, The stage and the tents at the Red Wing Park were beautifully decorated by Virginia Beach City Public School students. There were Japanese martial arts demonstrations around stage, which attracted the audience. The festival featured wonderful music performances on the central stage. The performances included Japanese songs sung by the ODU Japanese Chorus led by Minori Marken, as well as performances featuring traditional Japanese instruments such as the Koto (Japanese 13-string instruments), Sanshin (Okinawan lutes), and the Taiko drums. The ODU Japanese Chorus sings new songs every year. It is challenging to sing in Japanese, and some students spend months to master their parts. As always, the ODU Japanese Chorus did an excellent job performing. Members look forward to the upcoming year. OLD DOMINION UNIVERSITY 7

8 Non Profit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Norfolk, VA Permit No Batten Arts & Letters Norfolk, VA Foreign Languages and Literatures: Honor Societies and Graduation Ceremony On April 26, 2013, the Foreign Languages and Literatures Honor Societies and Graduation Ceremony took place. The festivities were held at the Baron and Ellin Gordon Art Galleries. The graduates were recognized for their achievements and all received graduate pins to mark this special occasion. To make the occasion more meaningful and memorable, alumni inducted the new French, German, Japanese and Spanish honor society members.